Architecture office Herzog & de Meuron has unveiled plans to revamp the Liverpool Street station in London. The scheme includes “vital upgrades” aimed at transforming the Victorian-era station into a fully accessible transportation hub fit to accommodate the 135 million people using the station annually. It also includes the addition of 840,000 square feet of offices and a 190,000 square feet hotel in two new structures, 10 and 6 stories high, respectively. These new interventions have attracted criticism from conservation groups. The proposal is currently undergoing its first round of public consultation. The development is overseen by Stellar, working with MTR, the operator of rail transport services and Network Rail.
The interventions aim to alleviate significant capacity and overcrowding issues while also addressing issues of accessibility, as the station has only one fully accessible lift serving the mainline station, and there is no step-free access to the Central line platforms. Consequently, the size of the concourse has been doubled to 98,350 square feet in order to increase circulation space. The number of public lifts has also increased from one to seven, while the access to the London Underground platforms has been revamped to provide step-free access across the station.
The scheme includes two new structures housing office and retail spaces, which are designed to be built over part of the 1990s elements and station concourse. The design of these additions has already been scaled back and subjected to a number of amendments. The developers announced that more developed proposals would be displayed at the second consultation planned for January.
Government heritage conservation group Historic England has been quick to express concerns over the newly unveiled plans, as reported by the Architects Journal. The organization has called the proposal “oversized and insensitive,” while the Victorian Society said it had not been consulted on the plans, which would ‘overwhelm’ the 1874 listed station. One of the main concerns expressed is that the new volumes would encroach on views of some of London’s greatest landmarks, including St. Paul’s Cathedral, protected under the London Views Management Framework.
In a press release, Stellar declares that “there will be no or low impact on views of St. Paul’s Cathedral.” The company also announces that the Victorian train sheds, which are due for restoration by Network Rail, will not be touched, as the station concourse is designed to celebrate these heritage features by opening up new views of them throughout the station. Elements of the Andaz Hotel will also be restored, and its’ historic rooms will be made more accessible to the public, including the masonic temples and ballroom
Other restoration plans in London have also caused backlash from conservation groups. Selldorf Architect’s plans to revamp the Sainsbury Wing, originally designed by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, have faced intense criticism, as many see the project as “unnecessarily destructive.” The remodeling plans are based on the brief to redirect circulation routes and use the Sainsbury Wing as the main access area to the National Gallery, a role for which the wing was not designed. Following rounds of public consultation, the architects have submitted revised plans in an effort to retain more of the original fabric of the building while keeping the original brief.
